The FDA voted for a new formulation of the flu vaccine, which protects against three strains of the virus, instead of four in the current version.
- A new formulation of the flu vaccine will be available in fall 2024 in the United States.
- This serum will protect against three strains of the virus, instead of four in the current version.
- B strains of the virus, which belong to the Yamagata branch of influenza, were excluded.
Starting in fall 2024, the new flu vaccine marketed in the United States will no longer protect against four strains of the virus – as is currently the case – but only three.
End of vaccination against B strains of the influenza virus
This Tuesday, March 5, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American body which authorizes the marketing of drugs, voted for this new formula of the flu vaccine. The new version, which will therefore be marketed from autumn 2024, has excluded the B strains of the virus, which belong to the Yamagata branch of the flu. But why ?
In note published last February, the WHO indicated that no detection of B/Yamagata lineage viruses had been confirmed since March 2020. The implementation of health measures (wearing a mask, barrier gestures, etc.) due to the Covid-19 pandemic would explain this sharp decline.
Vaccination against 4 strains was no longer justified according to the WHO
In this same note, the WHO recommended the exclusion of the B/Yamagata lineage from the composition of influenza vaccines which were not “more justified”. A call heard and implemented in the United States. However, another flu vaccine remains produced in the country and it protects against all four strains of the flu virus.
“You don’t want to vaccinate people for something they don’t need”, said Dr. Paul Offita member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Biologicals Advisory Committee, is pleased with this decision.
Every year, there are two to six million cases of influenza, depending on Public Health France. But for France as for other countries in the world, the arrival of this new vaccine should, if it is put on the market, take more time.
Globally, around a billion cases of seasonal flu are recorded annually, including 3 to 5 million severe cases, depending on the‘World Health Organization (WHO). Cases can sometimes be fatal, with 290,000 to 650,000 deaths each year linked to respiratory disorders, especially among young children.